Santos joins Gremio

Afp, London

Arsenal defender Andre Santos joined Brazilian club Gremio on loan until the end of the season on Monday after a miserable spell with the Premier League club.

Santos signed for Arsenal from Turkey's Fenerbahce in a £6.8 million deal on transfer deadline day in August 2011, but the Brazil left-back was unable to adapt to the demands of the English game and was regularly targeted by opponents looking to exploit his error-prone defending.

He also infuriated Gunners manager Arsene Wenger and Arsenal's supporters when he asked former team-mate Robin van Persie to swap shirts at half-time during the 2-1 defeat at Manchester United last November.

The 29-year-old has made just six starts this season and Wenger appeared to admit the transfer had been a mistake.